산신령의 반려

Brief description: A boy, who had been despised by the villagers for a long time due to his peculiar appearance, is offered as a sacrifice to the mountain god, following the prophecy left by the shaman who raised him. However, the mountain god he finally meets claims to have never issued such a prophecy.

“…A peculiar guest, indeed.”

The boy, who carries the energy of the heavens within him, bears sins that aren’t his own, and is surrounded by remnants of ancient sorcery. Wolbaek becomes intrigued by this boy who seems extraordinary in many ways…

“Until all the truths are revealed, you will be treated as my guest.”

And so, the boy becomes a guest at Wolbaek’s palace. Wolbaek finds himself continually thinking about the boy, whose dark past weighs heavily on his heart…

One by one, the boy’s secrets come to light.

Will he be able to reconnect with his true destiny, which had been severed?

‣ *Preview of the work*

“Who told you that you were ugly?”

Wolbaek, cutting off the boy’s nonsensical mutterings, reached out and grasped the boy’s round chin. He applied just enough pressure to make the boy look at him.

“You’re nothing but cute. Why belittle yourself?”

“…Pardon?”

Cute? Me? The boy had a dazed expression as if he’d heard something he shouldn’t have. Besides Grandma Cheon, Wolbaek was the first person to ever call him cute.

“If you were a flower, you’re still just a sprout, not even fully grown, let alone budding. How could anyone judge your beauty when the flower hasn’t even bloomed?”

“A sprout?”

“Yes. Only after fully nurturing it can you know what kind of flower it will become. Whoever said those awful things to you, forget them all from this moment.”

Wolbaek spoke firmly, his expression serious. He felt an overwhelming urge to find those who had hurled cruel words at the boy and personally sew their mouths shut. Suppressing his rising anger, Wolbaek moved the hand that had been gripping the boy’s chin to playfully brush against his soft lower lip. Then, as he gently tapped the boy’s round nose, he softly stroked his flushed eyelids.